The American poster

The American (2010)

Film · 1h 44m · Rated R

Crime, Drama, Thriller

A meticulous assassin finds fleeting peace in an Italian village, but danger always lurks in the shadows.

Suspenseful and melancholy. A late-night trip at a measured pace. Emotionally it is heavy.

Not on a US subscription service as of Oct 29, 2026.

The American parents guide

It stays inside its R, with moderate sex and nudity, and strong violence.

Scare
Not scary
Jump scares
None noted
Gore
Light gore
Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence
Strong violence
Violence is frequent or intense.
Sex and nudity
Moderate
Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.
Language
Mild
Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The American scary?
No. The American is not a scary watch.
How gory is The American?
Light gore and strong violence.
What is The American rated, and is it OK for kids?
It is an R, with moderate sex and nudity, and strong violence. Keep it for adults.

What is The American about?

Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, assassin Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

It leaves the ending open to interpretation.

Cast and crew

Directed byAnton Corbijn
StarringGeorge Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Johan Leysen, Irina Björklund

More like The American

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

Lists with the same feel: Melancholy and Late night.

Five more like The American

Say the mood. Five picks with where they stream, right here.

Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.